The Insider's Guide to Independent Film Distribution

This book is actually a come-on for the author's $25.00/ month newsletter subscription service, which promises to provide the "real data" that is missing from this book. Anyone reading this book is probably an unknown producer with an unknown cast and unknown director. Although a decent topical overview, on the subject of distribution itself, it contains very little quantitative data. For example, aside from family and friends, how many unknown films with unknown talent by unknown directors written by unknown writers made for under $1M that receive 'distribution' via DVD actually have any theatrical, TV or DVD sales at all? A recent survey of one of these small film distributors, who offers a catalog of 133 titles, shows that the highest-ranked film achieved a blazing Amazon.com rank of 99,152. Other important data that are missing, but which might be available for an additional $25/month from this author are things like relative sales or Amazon.com rankings for small films by genre, how much a family picture might earn for the distributor (or directly from the producer) for Lifetime or Hallmark channel airing, or what is the correlation between small-film budget and potential sales (is there a profitability threshold as a function of budget as exists for studio films with general theatrical distribution)? There have been enormous changes in the numbers of feature projects funded through the AFM since the first edition of this book, as well as changes in the distribution of budgets of completed projects by genre, as well as the ratio of which pictures received distribution by 'negative' budget by genre, but none of that is mentioned here; even though it would seem to be essential information for someone planning on producing a film that would receive distribution.Where the book provides useful quantitative information is in accounting for marketing and marketing collateral expenses during pre-production for a low-budget film.The book also provides model distribution and sales contracts which, if they are up-to-date, could prove very useful.The book is worth the purchase price in the anecdotal interviews alone, which are fun to read, although, again, neither quantitative nor dispositive. That is, they aren't very helpful in making a once-in-a-lifetime decision to mortgage one's house to produce a low-budget film.All in all, quite enjoyable to read. But when you consider that only 140 or so feature films receive general theatrical distribution each year but yet 50,000+ screenplays for same are registered with the WGA, numbers mean a lot more than vague, qualitative claims.

This book really sums up what distribution is, and what distribution was back then for film and TV projects. Things have definitely changed since the invention of the celluloid camera. It was definitely a truth bomber of how difficult it is now to either pre-sell your film, get a contract signed with a distributor, or even self-distribute yourself, things are more difficult now I strongly recommend this book to fellow filmmakers out there because the idea of just walking in, getting a deal signed, and receiving a large sum of money from your film is really long gone. 😳

When my latest documentary film went into postproduction I began trying to figure out how to work with distributors. It was all so overwhelming, especially these days with digital distribution added to the mix. I looked right here on good old Amazon and found this gem of a book. I learned so much in a few days and I put the practices from the book to work for me right away. Before long, I had two distributors biting on my film. Both of them sent contracts for us to look over and once again, Stacey's book was a plethora of information on contracts and checking distributor references. My favorite part of the book was the interviews with distributors. With the book and our contracts in hand I was able to decipher all of the legalese and figure out what I needed to negotiate for.Park's book strikes an excellent balance between digital and conventional distribution models. The book gave me the confidence to actually have a conversation with a distributor and know what I was talking about and what to ask for. I am happy to keep this book on my bookshelf and use it again and again. Thank you Stacey!!

It's hard to read some of the bad news in this book... because it's all true. Let's face it, DVD revenues are shrinking, Redbox deals are laughable, theatrical distribution is an excuse for a distribution company to run up costs against revenue. Hulu payouts are slim.But there are things you can do to succeed. And they're all here.Best piece of advice in this thing for me was get a separate M&E track, separate from dialogue, that way foreign houses can dub their own dialogue track underneath. Ker-ching!If you're a new filmmaker, I recommend reading a section, and then putting it down for a while, then coming back to it. It's too daunting to read all the tasks and strategies ahead of you in just one sitting. By the time you get to the section that says you have to have a full Dialogue Spotting and Continuity list, you're ready to blow your indie brains out.But God help you if you actually do what's laid out in the book-- because there's no two ways about it, success is yours. You've worked hard, and now you deserve.

Distribution is often the last thing a filmmaker thinks about when they make a film. Especially their first film. This is a huge mistake and can often keep a film from ever being seen by anyone but friends and family. Stacey's book is like an insurance policy against this type of failure and the best starting point I've seen for starting down the right path to film-making success. So much of what needs to be thought about and put in place during development, production, post and beyond needs to start early. This book is like a blueprint or road-map to help navigate the often treacherous waters of film distribution. It will help keep you from making serious mistakes that can cost you your film. It is not meant to have all the answers, but it will help point you in the right direction and raise important questions that you can then research and implement, so that your film can be as successful as possible. Besides the book, the author, Stacey Parks has one of the very best websites available dealing with all aspects of independent film, from financing to production to audience.

A very useful book with sample agreements, info about deliverables and press packs etc. Very much related to distribution from a U.S point of view, but still very useful for UK filmmakers.The only negative is the book arrived with chocolate splodges on the cover and the pages stuck together with what looked like strawberry jam. It looked like a 5yr old had been playing with the book while eating sweets!So I had to carefully prise the pages apart, clean it and dry out the book before I could even read it. Not ideal, especially at a time like this when people are supposed to be extra hygienic. During normal times I would have returned it for a refund, but it's difficult to do that during a national lockdown. And the content of the book is excellent, so I can overlook the sticky stuff!5 stars for the brilliant content of the book, but only 1 star for the condition it arrived in!